Congratulations to Cindy Weiss (Illinois), Jennifer Womble (Texas) and Jen Fruno (Canada) who were all randomly selected to win a SET of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, including copies of “Twilight”, “New Moon”, “Eclipse” and the new book “Breaking Dawn”, courtesy of Hachette Book Group USA!!! Not unexpectedly, the giveaway set a new Fantasy Book Critic record for entries with 14,451. So much thanks to all of the participants!

Garfield Minus Garfield made its online debut in February 2008 and quickly became an online sensation based on a simple premise: What would Jim Davis’Garfield comic strip be like without its lasagna-loving fat cat? Without the presence of Garfield and other characters such as Odie the dog and Nermal the kitten, the strips “create a new, even lonelier atmosphere for Jon Arbuckle…Jon’s observations seem to teeter between existential crisis and deep despair.” —New York Times

The full-color book format will give readers the experience of having both the original and doctored Garfield strips together on the same page for comparison. Dublin, Ireland-based Garfield Minus Garfield creator Dan Walsh will provide the foreword to the book, which is scheduled for publication October 28, 2008.

Garfield creator Jim Davis was intrigued by—and pleased with—the concept. “I think it’s an inspired thing to do,” Davis said. “I want to thank Dan for enabling me to see another side of Garfield. Some of the strips he chose were slappers: ‘Oh, I could have left that out.' It would have been funnier.”

Garfield Minus Garfield site creator Dan Walsh says, “When I looked at Jon and laughed at his crazy antics I thought ‘He's just like me.’ As it turns out, I wasn't the only one saw myself in him: millions of visitors from all over the world visit Garfield Minus Garfield and tell me they think the same thing. Now, thanks to the awesome generosity and humor of Jim Davis, Garfield Minus Garfield is going to become a book and I'm absolutely honored to be part of it.”

Ballantine Books has been publishing Garfield books since 1980, and thirty-three Garfield titles have made the New York Times bestseller list. Thirty Years of Laughs and Lasagna: The Life and Times of a Fat, Furry Legend, will be published by Ballantine Books in October 2008. This hardcover anniversary collection will include a foreword from Dean Young, Blondie cartoonist, and exclusive content from Jim Davis.

ABOUT PAWS INC.:

Paws, Incorporated was founded in 1981 by cartoonist Jim Davis as a creative house to support Garfield licensing. Today, the company, located in rural Indiana, handles not only the creative angle, but also the business concerns of the corpulent kitty worldwide. Paws boasts a staff of more than 50 artists, writers, and licensing professionals. Paws, Inc. is a privately held company and the sole owner of the copyrights and trademarks for GARFIELD and GARFIELD Characters.

ABOUT GARFIELDMINUSGARFIELD.NET:

Garfield Minus Garfield is a site dedicated to removing Garfield from the Garfield comic strips in order to reveal the existential angst of a certain young Mr. Jon Arbuckle. Garfield Minus Garfield began in February 2008 and quickly gained a large following. It has been covered in such publications as Time magazine, Rolling Stone, the Washington Post and the New York Times. Garfield Minus Garfield is a journey deep into the mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.

~Judith Moffett has released “The Bird Shaman”, the long-awaited conclusion of her Holy Ground Trilogy, about the alien Hefn who have taken possession of Earth in order to save it from human abuse. The novel's ecological themes, developed in Utah deserts and Kentucky woods, are interwoven with issues of child abuse, Mormon history, and the mysteries of prehistoric rock art. The trilogy's previous two volumes, “The Ragged World” and “Time, Like an Ever-Rolling Stream” were both New York Times Notable Books. “Moffett's combination of harsh realism with visionary zeal addresses contemporary issues and personal struggles with compassion and insight.” —Library Journal. “The Bird Shaman” is available from Amazon.com, or direct from the publisher, Bascom Hill Publishing Group, via the author's website. To read the novel's first chapter, and to place your order, please visit http://www.judithmoffett.com/:

“Occupation of Earth is now in its 27th year, and relations between humanity and the dictatorial Hefn have never seemed shakier. The aliens' mission is to save the planet from its human abusers; and the Baby Ban imposed by mass hypnosis has made Earth a cleaner, wilder, less crowded place. But the Ban has now lasted so long, and provoked such hatred, that when a spark is struck the situation explodes into worldwide riots on one side and retaliatory mindwipings on the other. Years of effort by the eco-spiritual Gaians, who mediate between humans and Hefn, have been destroyed.

While the Gaians regroup and brainstorm frantically in an atmosphere of doubt and danger, one obsessed Hefn and one young woman begin a radical experiment. Pam Pruitt has discovered a growing ability to acquire information by non-rational means. Childhood suffering has empowered her, in a way once understood by hunting and gathering peoples—an understanding lost with that lost lifeway—to communicate with mysterious forces through strong dreaming: to function as a shaman on behalf of her community, the human race…”

~Moving on, it’s been a long time coming, but it’s finally been officially announced HERE via Variety that David Anthony Durham’s epic fantasy novel, “Acacia” (Reviewed HERE) has been optioned by Relativity Media for film adaptation. While I’m not familiar with the screenwriter Andrew Grant, Relativity has produced a lot of great films including 3:10 To Yuma, American Gangster, The Kingdom, Wanted, etc, so I believe the book is in great hands :) For David’s thoughts on the film adaptation, check out his blog HERE.

~Lastly, Brave Luck Books is hosting the Fantasy Pleasure Reading Contest for the month of August. Basically, by downloading the free fantasy ebook “Union of Renegades: The Rys Chronicles Book I”, anyone will be entered to win one of these prizes:

1st prize: Brand new mass market paperback copies of the first four novels of George R.R. Martin's international best-selling Song of Ice and Fire epic fantasy series—A Game of Thrones, A Clash of Kings, A Storm of Swords, and A Feast for Crows. A $31.96 value.

2nd prize: A brand new trade paperback copy of The Coming of Conan the Cimmerian: The Original Adventures of the Greatest Sword and Sorcery Hero of All Time! This unabridged collection of stories is by the famous fantasy writer Robert E. Howard. A $16.95 value.

3rd and 4th prizes:The Rys Chronicles complete epic fantasy series in trade paperback. Win all four novels: Union of Renegades, The Goddess Queen, Judgment Rising and The Borderlands of Power.

5th through 10th prizes:The Rys Chronicles complete epic fantasy series in ebook format. Win all four novels in your choice of digital format: Union of Renegades, The Goddess Queen, Judgment Rising and The Borderlands of Power.

The contest is open to all readers worldwide. Winners will be drawn on September 1, 2008. Full contest details can be found HERE.